Forget a pricy gym membership – the only exercise equipment you need is your baby’s buggy!
‘About six weeks after your baby is born and if you feel up to it, pram walking is a fantastic workout,’ says celebrity trainer Lee Mullins from Bodyism.
Walking with a pram works your glutes (bottom), hamstrings, abdominals, pelvic floor muscles and is a great (and easy way) to lose baby weight. The combination will tighten up your stomach, waist and bottom and create a long, lean profile and a perkier looking bottom...
We've rounded up the most effective ways to pram walk your way to a fitter you...
1) Start off slow
‘Aim to go out every day at first,’ says Lee. ‘Start off with a gentle 10-minute walk around the block, listening to your body and taking it slowly if need be.’
Getting out in the fresh air has the added benefit of lifting your mood – studies show that exercising outside raises our levels of the happy hormone serotonin – and the gentle rocking motion of the pram will help your baby sleep better. The afternoons are a good time to go as studies, including a recent one from Liverpool John Moores University, found that babies sleep better at night when exposed to fresh air after lunch. Bonus!
2) Gradually increase the distance
Start to build up the duration of your walks to twenty, then 45 minutes a day. Then go up to an hour, aiming to do this three or four times a week.
3) Find some hills
Once you start to feel fitter, try to incorporate an incline into your walks. This will work your upper arms, legs, bottom and stomach harder and burn more excess fat.
4) Get a pram buddy
Countless studies show that we work out better and for longer, and are less likely to give up, when we do it with a friend. So find a fellow mum who wants to improve her fitness and set up pram dates with her every week. This will keep you on track.
5 Find a pram workout
Buggy Fit is a nationwide class for mums run by mums who want to get fit with baby in tow. Classes last up to an hour and include a three to five-mile walk, with lots of fat-busting moves like squats and push-ups along the way.
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